


Crisis Rebellion

by RoeDusk



Category: Bleach, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Chronic spiritual damage causing near blindness, Crossover, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-01-05
Packaged: 2018-03-05 15:07:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3124682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoeDusk/pseuds/RoeDusk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angeal has been hunting down the hollows he infected to try and hunt down Genesis after realizing he made them worse, not controllable.  At the same time, Muramasa has orchestrated the Zanpakuto Rebellion in Soul Society and is now headed for Kouga's prison on the outskirts of Karakura Town.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Angeal

**Author's Note:**

> While this work can stand alone, I put a lot of background thought into how the universes were fused, intending originally to write a crossover of the whole of both series. I may still do that if I find the time and inspiration, but I won't bore everyone with the details of the world unless someone asks. 
> 
> If you want to follow along with the fight scenes, I took the battles from the anime episodes, adjusted a bit for better teamwork. Major events are still the same. Episodes 249, (250 is back in soul society), 251, 252, 253, 254, and 255.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and enjoy!

    “I suffer for my own failings,” Angeal admitted to the hollow as it screeched and turned to face him, “I thought corrupting the souls of hollows would change your natures, protect the innocent, as well as granting me the eyes I needed to find Genesis.  But it was nothing but mistaken pride.”

    He dodged the first attack with a shake of his head.

    “But I’m no better than any of you, and my instincts fell prey to your natures as easily as yours did.  Only now, I see every atrocity you commit,” he ducked the hollow’s arm as it swung, and chopped it off at the shoulder, “And I am the only one who can stop you.”

    He’d realized that soon enough that even the regular ways of fighting hollows didn’t stop those he had infected, they would just regenerate after a time.  No, the only way to stop them was to take back the power he had given by absorbing the beasts.

    The ex-soldier jumped as the hollow turned to snap at him, slicing off it’s other arm as he stepped off its back.

    “I am sorry, for stealing your chance at redemption,” Angeal told the monster as it flailed, unable to get up without it’s arms.  Then he stabbed his sword through the other’s mask, absorbing the bleeding energy before it could escape and regenerate.

    The sudden, overwhelming need to hunt-kill-feed, to destroy everything and everyone he cared about, brought Angeal to his knees.  Long moments passed, when he wasn’t sure who he really was or what he wanted, before he regained himself.  Disgust followed and he shuddered.  He may have tracked down every last corrupted soul, but, with all their clamored hate inside of him, his humanity would not last much longer.

    Perhaps he could sleep, at last, regain some control of himself, but even as the thought came to him, he put it aside.  He could not take the risk and lose control, not now, when he had almost rid the world of his mistake.

    The ex-soldier looked down at the Buster Sword, still clenched tightly in his hand, and managed a small smile.  It had been longer than he liked since he went over the blade inch-by-inch to find and repair damage before it could grow, but the last hollow seemed not to have worn on it overmuch.  He hoped Zack would take care of the blade when he was gone.

    A worried ‘wark’ shook him from his thoughts, and he looked up into the eyes of his loyal chocobo.

    “I’m alright,” he reassured the bird, wrapping an arm around it’s neck so he could pull himself up.  The large black bird considered him for a long moment, not believing that, but relented when Angeal tiredly patted its side.

    “One last ride, my friend,” the ex-soldier said as he mounted, “One last ride, and we’ll finally be done.  Help me find Zack.”

    “Wark,” the bird warned, before trilling softly in distress.  Finally it turned and started off, both chocobo and rider vanishing into the rising fog.


	2. Gathering

    _‘Some strange energy signatures just popped up around town.  And it looks like rain!’_  The text said in flashing green letters when Rufus pulled out his phone.  He frowned.

    _‘Why do I care?  I’m nowhere nearby.  And when did I give you permission to use this number?’_

    _‘As long as you can live with yourself, what you do with the information isn’t my concern,’_  the shopkeeper sent back cheerfully.  Rufus grumbled inwardly for a moment, resisting the urge to send back a nasty message.  Then he opened a new message to Tseng.

_‘Reiatsu signatures in Town.  How soon can you leave?’_

  _‘? … Urahara.  We’re on our way.’_ Came the brisk reply, and Rufus left it at that, forcing himself to relax before continuing on to that morning’s meeting.

* * *

     “How does Rufus even know something happened in Karakura, when the Turks didn’t?  He’s in Midgar right now!  Uh… right?”  Zack asked, looking over at Tseng.

    “The Vice President has always had his own sources, few of which he cared to share,” the Turk reported mildly, eyes remaining on the road, “And he is indeed in Midgar.”

    Zack considered that for a long moment, then sat in awkward silence a little longer before fidgeting, “So, what are we looking for, exactly?”

    “There was no more information.  Call the others and find out?” Tseng suggested, and Zack brightened at the prospect of having something to do.  Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through the contacts before dialing.

    “Hey, Ishida?  It’s Zack.  Rufus said there was something weird going on?”  He listened as the archer snapped at him, then shook his head, “No, I don’t know what he meant, I was calling to see if you did.”

    “Urahara called Chad and I to say someone has arrived in the real world, and to wonder if it might be a problem,” Uryu replied after a moment, “But he hung up before either of us could ask anything else.  Chad tried to call Orihime, but she isn’t home.  Meaning she probably already went out to investigate.  We’re heading out to find her now.”

    “Right,” Zack agreed, sitting up straight at that, “Tseng and I are just getting into town now.  We’ll start from up here and meet you at the strongest spiritual source.  Good luck.”

    “Yea, you too,” Uryu murmured before hanging up.

    Tseng glanced over in question once Zack lowered his phone.

    “Urahara told them someone, maybe a problem, was here.  And Inoue isn’t home so Ishida and Sado are going to go look for her.”

    The Turk nodded, pulling over and parking the car so he could step out.  Zack followed as the other man frowned and closed his eyes.

    “There are three strong signatures,” Tseng said after a moment, hesitating, “I don’t think any of them are Kurosaki.”

    “Start from the closest one?” Zack suggested, and the Turk nodded.

    “Let’s go.”

* * *

     “But, why turn all the Zanpakuto against their shinigami,  just to find the Shinigami he claimed he killed?” Rukia demanded as she summoned a hell butterfly to her and took the lead.

    “He needed to get to the old man without getting killed in the meantime,” Ichigo replied, “Otherwise he couldn’t have stolen the information he needed.”

    “But…” Rukia set her jaw and shook her head as she activated the soul gate, “How could someone so stuck on loyalty force others to betray that loyalty?”

    “Nothing else he can do lasted as long, or would have occupied so many of the captains?”  Ichigo offered after a moment, “I don’t think he had another choice.”

    Rukia let it go, and both of them focused on getting to Karakura before anything else could go wrong.

 


	3. Battle Start

    Two of the three spiritual signatures converged, with the third not far away, so Zack and Tseng headed that way.  They arrived at the lake just as Muramasa lashed out at the others.

    Chad stumbled backwards and collapsed, his mind shutting down to protect him from Muramasa’s onslaught.  Uryu broke off his fight with Senbonzakura to regroup as Orihime ran to Chad’s side.  Muramasa attacked before the quincy had a chance to react, but Orihime called her shield and the illusion-attack didn’t hit.

    Tseng threw out a hand to stop Zack before the other could run into the battle, and the soldier shot him a questioning look.

    “There’s something wrong with his spiritual pressure,” the Turk murmured, “Take a moment to assess his strengths and weaknesses before rushing in.”

    Zack nodded drawing his sword and accepting the Sense materia offered him.  Just then, Muramasa erupted with hollow spiritual pressure.

    “No time!” Zack exclaimed, tossing the Sense back to Tseng and leaping forward, powering up his fire materia.  The blast would have hit the strangers head on, if the white-clad one hadn’t redirected it.  Tseng’s pistol lept to his hand, even as he sighed and used the Sense himself.

    “Zack!” Orihime exclaimed as the soldier landed beside them.

    “You guys alright?” Zack asked, looking from Orihime to Uryu.

    “We’re fine,” Orihime reassured him, accompanied by a nod from Uryu, “But Chad…”

    Zack grit his teeth and shifted further in front of the group, “Who are they?”

    “Um… he said his name was Muramasa… and the one fighting Uryu was Senbonzakura...” Orihime began, pointing first to the white-clad man, then the samurai.

    “They’re Zanpakuto,” Tseng spoke, walking up behind Uryu.  “High level ones, in human form.  Though there’s something wrong with Muramasa,” he finished, kneeling beside Chad to check on him.

    “Wrong?” Uryu murmured, lifting his bow a little higher, “How?”

    “Honestly, it’s something I’d expect to feel from a soul reaper bleeding out.  Or being devoured by a hollow,” Tseng replied deadpan, but the rest of the group flinched.

    “How do you…” Zack began before closing his mouth with a snap.

    “If they’re Zanpakuto, what are they doing in the real world?” Uryu asked, thinking aloud, then his eyes widened, “What happened to Ichigo when he went to Soul Society?”

    “He’s probably being burned alive by Ryuujin Jakka’s hellfire as we speak,” Muramasa replied mildly.

    “Ryuujin Jakka?” Zack repeated with a frown, and Tseng’s eyes widened.

    “Isn’t that…?!”

    “The Head-Captain’s Zanpakuto,” Senbonzakura finished for him bluntly, making Tseng frown.

    “Yamamoto wouldn’t turn against Kurosaki,” the Turk rebuffed him, but Muramasa smiled in response.

    “Who said anything about Yamamoto?”  The Zanpakuto asked smiling wider when there was no response.

    “You’re lying,” Orihime said finally, then louder, “Ichigo will definitely come back!”

    Muramasa went to argue, but interrupted himself suddenly with a hacking cough.

    “Muramasa?” Senbonzakura asked, startled, but making no move to assist.

    “I’m fine. Just running out of time,” the other replied, and his spiritual energy expanded until several hollows suddenly appeared out of it.

    “His reiatsu from earlier, it was just like a hollow’s,” Orihime gasped, her hands lifting towards her hairpins.

    “How did you summon hollows?” Zack demanded, “Aren’t you a Zanpakuto?!”

    “Completely,” Muramasa replied, blood streaming from his eyes, “A Zanpakuto with the power to change the world.  And my solitary battle is nearly come to an end.  Take care of them,” he said to Senbonzakura before leaping away.

    “You won’t get away!” Uryu cried, firing after the rogue Zanpakuto, but Senbonzakura lept in the way to blocked.

    “You shall not pass!” the samurai-sword-spirit growled, leaping into the fray as the hollows moved to attack.

    “Tseng!” Zack called, guard held high, “Take care of Sado!”

    “Understood,” the Turk agreed, hoisting the unconscious teen upright, “Inoue?”

    “Of course,” she agreed, taking Chad’s other side, and the two hurried off the battlefield.

    Zack charged the nearest hollow with a roar, and chopped it in half.  The mask shattered, and it dissipated as the other hollows hesitated.

    “On your guard,” Senbonzakura challenged, only to pull back as a shadow crossed his path.

    “Get down!” Uryu yelled, and all three combattants leapt back as a black shadow landed on the nearest hollow with an angry ‘Wark!’

    “Would someone mind telling me what’s going on?”  A familiar voice asked as the hollow dissipated, and Zack’s eyes widened comically.

    “Angeal?!”

* * *

    The ex-soldier glanced from the quincy, to the samurai, and back to Zack.  “Who’s an enemy?”

    “Hollows, the pink samurai, and long fingernails guy in a white dress,”  Zack reported quickly, a smile breaking through his worried expression, “Uryu and the others are with us.”

    “Another stranger will not even the odds,” the samurai growled, unleashing a swarm of pink petals from his sword, which the Quincy jumped forwards to block with a barage of his own.  Angeal hurried to dismount, letting the chocobo retreat to safety.

    “And you are?” Uryu asked as they leapt away in sync.

    “Angeal Hewley.  I used to work with Zack,” Angeal replied, “What can you tell me?”

    “About Senbonzakura?” Uryu guessed, “He’s a captain’s Zanpakuto gone rogue, as far as we can tell.  The petals are a thousand tiny blades, or more.  And he’s fast.”

    “That at least I can see,” Angeal agreed as they regrouped with Zack.  It seemed his own problems would have to wait.

* * *

     “Chad and I will be alright,” Orihime reassured Tseng as they settled Chad against the base of a tree, “Please, go after Muramasa.”

    “We have a better chance of protecting Sado together,” the Turk replied with a frown, making sure his pistol was secure, back in its holster.

    “It’s just… he was so sad.  I can’t help but think he’s about to do something terrible,” Orihime murmured, looking back the way they came, “Please Tseng.”

    But before he could reply, the screech of a hollow hunting made both of them spin back-to-back, just in time to see the first of Muramasa’s hollows pushing into the clearing.

    “Tch.  Apparently weakened prey is more interesting than Zack and Ishida,” Tseng muttered, pistol slipping into his hand.  “Inoue, make sure none of them get to Sado.”

    “Yes,” she agreed quickly, falling back to a guard position.  The hollows hesitated at seeing three opponents, two of which were ready to attack, but they would not hesitate for long.  Tseng took the opportunity for a preemptive strike.


	4. New Arrival

    Chad could hear Orihime yelling, calling for Tseng to look out, and summoning Santen Kesshun.  He forced his eyes open, seeing the smaller man rolling out of the way of another attack as he fired into the hollows trying to flank the shield on Chad’s other side.  But killing the hollow trying to breach the shield took time he could have used to counter the three hollows converging on him.  Instead Tseng was forced to roll under a punch and further away from backup.

    Gritting his teeth, Chad dug fingers into the back of the tree beside him and staggered to his feet.  A single punch was all it took to buy Tseng the time he needed to take the rest out.

    “Chad!” Orihime exclaimed, dispelling her shield as soon as the last hollow fell.  “Are you alright?!”

    “No problem,” the giant breathed, and she put a hand on his arm to steady him.

    “We were worried,” Tseng agreed, his pistol disappearing again.

    “Tseng, go,” Chad said quietly, reminding the Turk of Orihime’s earlier request, “We’ll be fine now.”

    “We’re counting on you,” Orihime put in.

    After a moment’s hesitation, Tseng nodded, “Stay safe.”  Then he went to find Zack.  This wasn’t something he was willing to try without backup.

* * *

    “Get Back!” Uryu shouted as Senbonzakura attacked again.  Zack dodged to the side and let the archer push back the attack with his own.

    “This is getting us nowhere,” Angeal pointed out, “Zack and I are barely useful against this opponent.”

    “We’re running out of time,” Uryu agreed, glancing towards the island in the lake.  Angeal blinked and looked as well, and both noticed the sparks at the same time.

    “What the…?”

    “Damn it, we’ve got to do something fast!” Zack cut in before the Quincy could say more.

    “You don’t have time to look elsewhere!” Senbonzakura announced, taking advantage of their momentary distraction to attack Uryu.  All three combatants spun, but the Zanpakuto’s attack skidded off a hastily cast Barrier from Tseng.

    “Sado is awake, and Inoue asked me to stop Muramasa before something terrible happens,” the Turk reported quickly.

    “Zack, you and Tseng go.  We’ll cover you.” Angeal decided, and Uryu nodded his agreement.

    Zack nodded once, then he and Tseng sprinted towards the island.

    “No you don’t!” Senbonzakura cried, jumping after then, but Angeal was suddenly in the way, casting Blizzard.  The Zanpakuto dodged only to come face to face with Uryu’s bow, forcing him to block hurriedly.

    “You’re not done with us yet,” Angeal told the samurai with a smile, and Senbonzakura frowned.

* * *

    “Muramasa!” Zack yelled as he and Tseng landed.  The Zanpakuto tensed and turned to them with a snarl.

    “I don’t have time for this!”  He ground out, drawing his blade and turning on the pair, “Fall!”

    “Why are you doing this?” Zack asked desperately, “Why doesn’t anyone just talk out their problems?!”

    “Inoue asked me to follow you, incase you did something you’d regret.  We aren’t your enemies,” Tseng cut in, and the Zanpakuto hesitated.  Then a sneer crossed his face.

    “You know nothing about me.  This,” He gestured to the coffin floating behind him, “Is my master.  And we’re going to remake the world.”

    To Muramasa’s surprise, the soldier’s look changed to one of distress, not horror.  “You mean…”

    “That’s your Shinigami,” Tseng finished, his own expression harder to read, “You came to Karakura to find them.”

    “Yes,” Muramasa agreed, turning his gaze on the coffin with a smile.  Then he lashed out, an illusion taking down Tseng, and pinning Zack through the reflection in the lake.

    “Don’t!” Zack yelled futilely as the other’s eyes glowed purple, and the coffin finally opened, “Muramasa!”

    “Way of Destruction No. 33: Blue Fire Crash Down!” a familiar voice called out even as the final seal broke.  Muramasa summoned his blade, slashing the attack in half, losing his hold on Zack as he did so.

    “Rrrrraaaahhhh!” Ichigo yelled, following up with a direct attack.  But Muramasa blocked that as well, using the Shinigami’s momentum to throw him aside.

    Finally free, Zack ran to Tseng’s side and checked his pulse.

    “Sorry we’re late,” Ichigo told the soldier, as Rukia hurried over to help, “How is he?”

    “He’s unconscious, but otherwise alright,” she reported, starting a healing Kido, and Zack relaxed, standing to take a guard position.

    “How did you escape Ryuujin Jakka?” Muramasa hissed.  But Ichigo only shrugged.

    “I had help.  I’m not going to let you destroy Karakura!”

    “Then I’m afraid you’re too late,” Muramasa replied with a smug smile, drawing everyone’s attention to the figure emerging from the dissipating light behind him.  “At long last,” he continued, almostly breathlessly, “Our dream will come true.”

    “Damn it,” Ichigo growled, falling into a fighting stance as the other Shinigami’s eyes opened, “That’s going to make things a bit more difficult.”

* * *

    “We got them!” Orihime cheered as the last hollow disintegrated.  She and Chad high-fived before the roar of a dimensional gate sounded nearby.

    Uryu stumbled mid step, recovering before the samurai could take advantage of his mishap, “Ichigo?”

    “Who?” Angeal asked, blinking, as Senbonzakura hesitated and looked the same direction.

    The ex-soldier turned to look over his shoulder and saw a flash of orange hair as two figures darted out a flying screen door towards Muramasa’s island.

    “Ichigo!” Orihime called out excitedly, “And Rukia!  They’re alright!”

    “They’re with us,” Uryu reassured the ex-soldier, noticing as he tried to place the newcomers, “Orihime, Chad, over here!”

    “Then reinforcements have arrived.  Let’s wrap this up,” Angeal greeted with a tired smile.

    The samurai tensed, now even more outnumbered, but unwilling to give in or back down.  A sudden blast of spiritual pressure interrupted the fight before it could begin, drawing all attention to the island.


	5. Kuchiki

    The blast drove Ichigo back before he could consider attacking, and Rukia flash-stepped Tseng a safer distance away.

    “How can he have this much spiritual pressure after being sealed away for 500 years?” Rukia murmured as Tseng stirred weakly.  Zack landed nearby, gritting his teeth and raising his sword higher.

    “Are you awake, Koga?” Muramasa breathed, “I’ve waited so long.”

    The glowing figure dimmed and landed, his head turning towards the Zanpakuto but making no other move of recognition.

    “We can create your world now,” Muramasa continued, walking to stand in front of his Shinigami.

    “Muramasa,” Koga stated.  Before stabbing the chipped blade he held into the spirit’s chest.  Ichigo and Zack both cried out in protest, and shock, but the Zanpakuto didn’t hear them.

    “Wh-Why?” Muramasa asked, falling to his knees when the other let go of the sword holding him up.  Koga’s face contorted in rage and disgust, looking down at him.

    “Koga, why did you...?”

    “You didn’t come,” the Shinigami accused after a long pause, “Even though I called you when I was about to get sealed away.”

    “You, were calling for me?” Muramasa gasped, even as Koga stepped away from him.

    “You refused to lend me your power.”

    “I never heard you, I swear.  I was waiting for you to call me,” the Zanpakuto shuddered and fell, catching himself with both hands, “I waited so long to hear your voice.  Until I learned you’d been sealed away.  I’ve been working to release the seal since.  But I didn’t know where you were…”  He reached out to Koga, but the man slapped his hand away.

    “What’s the point of you if you’re not there when I need you?!”

    The soul-reaper ripped the sword out of his spirit’s side, then kicked his head, sending Muramasa spinning into the grass.

    “You bastard!” Ichigo yelled, “You don’t know what he went through for you!”  Koga ignored him, stepping forward to tower over the fallen Zanpakuto.

    “I created your powers.  You’re supposed to do what I say!”

    Muramasa stared up at him, wheezing.  “Aren’t we comrades?”

    Koga laughed cruelly.  “Comrades?  You’re just a sword.  A tool.  Don’t get cocky!”  And he swung his sword up over his head to strike.  Muramasa’s eyes widened, and then clenched shut.

    “Muramasa!” Ichigo yelled, charging forward, too far away to make it in time.  But a shadow lept in the way, startling him back, and the blade stopped short, blocked by Byakuya’s sword.

    Muramasa dared to open his eyes when the expected blow never came, and stared at the Kuchiki clan head in shock.

    “I can’t believe you called your Zanpakuto a tool and attacked it,” Byakuya chastised with a glare, “You don’t deserve the title ‘Soul Reaper’."

    Both combatants held their ground for a moment before leaping out of range.

    “A scarf and those kenseikan…” Koga mused, considering his opponent, “You’re a Kuchiki, aren’t you?”

    “Byakuya Kuchiki, the 28th family head,” Byakuya replied, and Koga chuckled.

    “A bit of time has passed since I was imprisoned, hasn’t it?  Tell me, has Ginrei kicked the bucket yet?”

    “You’re not fit to speak his name,” Byakuya interrupted briskly, “After the dishonor you brought upon our family.”

    “Damn you…” Koga growled.

    “How do you even know each other…?” Ichigo groused.

    “Brother, what’s going on?” Rukia agreed, stepping forward, “I thought you allied with Muramasa.”

    “Stay back and watch,” Senbonzakura ordered, flash-stepping beside Ichigo with a blade to his throat.  “This is a matter of Kuchiki Family honor.”

    “Maybe you should follow your own advice,” Uryu suggested, bow aimed at the samurai as he and Angeal flashed over seconds behind.  “What’s going on?”

    “Muramasa can release a Zanpakuto’s spirit, turning them against their masters,” Rukia replied, unsheathing her own blade.

    “And somehow Byakuya was convinced to turn against us after fighting Senbonzakura.  Or that’s what we thought,” Ichigo continued, “But that doesn’t actually make sense if they’re both turning against him now.”

    “It was simple enough for Byakuya to regain my allegiance the first time we fought,” Senbonzakura stated, “And, when we discussed what had happened, it was child’s play to realize Muramasa was the same blade Koga Kuchiki had turned against Soul Society, five hundred years ago.”

    “That doesn’t mean you needed to keep it a secret from us!” Ichigo exclaimed, heedless of the blade at his throat.

    “It was all to find where Koga was sealed away!” the Zanpakuto yelled back, “If Muramasa succeeded in releasing him, it was our duty to be there to end his betrayal!”

    “You shouldn’t have faced that alone,” Ichigo told both of them before anyone else could speak, “Even if you both still think you have to.”

    Everyone blinked at him for a moment, before the substitute soul-reaper stepped back.  Senbonzakura’s blade didn’t follow.

    “You’d better win,” Ichigo finished firmly, “Because, if you think we’re going to stand back and let you lose, you’re wrong.”

    Senbonzakura didn’t dignify that with a response, but agreed all the same.

* * *

    “Umm…” Orihime whispered to Chad where they stood on the bank.  “I can’t see what’s going on at all.”

    “I could carry you,” Chad offered, gesturing to the lake, “It might not be deep.”

    “I couldn’t let you to that!” Orihime gasped, waving her arms in desperate denial, “Then Chad would get all wet, and what if it is deep?”

    “Then, we wait?” Chad offered, straining to see the island.  Orihime nodded, wringing her hands.

    “I just hope everyone’s alright.”

* * *

    “So, you think you’ll kill me.  Is that right?” Koga sneered.  Byakuya stared him down for a silent moment before glancing over at Ichigo and the others.

    “Kurosaki.  You should know by now, I will not lose.”

    The substitute Soul Reaper blinked, then smiled, “Yea, well.  Just being clear.”

    “Tch.  You certainly have the arrogance of a Kuchiki,” Koga growled.  Then he smirked, “Well, if you really are the family head, I’ll just finish what I started all those years ago.”

    “Koga,” Muramasa breathed, pulling himself to his feet and staggering towards his shinigami, “Use me.  My power is yours.”  He stumbled to a stop as Koga grimaced, swinging his chipped blade up between them.

    Everyone froze, watching the crazed ex-Kuchiki uncertainly.  Angeal and Uryu hadn’t seen what happened last time, but realized something bad was going to happen from their allies’ tenseness.

    Then Koga shattered the blade, and everyone seemed to act at once.

    “You bastard!” Ichigo yelled, visibly restraining himself from attacking the other man.  Both Senbonzakura and Byakuya flinched, and the samurai took a half step towards his Shinigami before stopping.

    Tseng gasped as Rukia’s kido stuttered, opening his eyes before locking onto his comrade at Zack’s cry.

    “Zack,” he grit out, and the soldier turned to him.

    But Angeal was the one who lept forward, faster than anyone else moved, wrapping an arm around the injured Zanpakuto before Muramasa could fall.  The hollows were still screaming under his skin, under his thoughts, but a blessed, terrible realization washed over him.  He would never let himself become as much of a monster as that man.

    “Koga, why?” Muramasa gasped, going into shock as his legs finally collapsed.  Only Angeal was holding him up now, and the angle he was falling at just made his wounds bleed more.

    “You’ll just get in my way,” Koga shrugged, tossing the hilt down beside the broken sword-shards, “I have no use for an unstable sword, so I’ll just do this on my own.”

    “You… bastard!  You can’t just throw him away!” Ichigo screamed at him, “Don’t you understand what a Zanpakuto is?!”

    “They’re just tools,” Koga brushed him off, and Muramasa forgot to breathe, “I’ll find a replacement.”

    “No sword is just a tool,” Angeal growled, “Especially Zanpakuto who can feel, and suffer.”

    But Muramasa couldn’t hear anything anymore.  He couldn’t breathe.  Desperate hands came up to claw at his throat, and his spiritual pressure, kept with such careful control for so long, snapped wildly around him.

    “Hold on!” a strange voice called, but Muramasa couldn’t place where he’d heard it before.  And then all sound faded as his spiritual pressure overwhelmed him, and he screamed.


	6. Missing Mentor

    Zack snatched up Tseng, who seemed, for once, too shocked to react, as the rogue Zanpakuto’s spiritual pressure exploded.  Skidding to safety in the air, Zack felt Tseng tense and push against him, so he let the other man find his own spiritual perch.  Glancing around, everyone seemed to have lept into the air.  Except the one he was most desperate to see.

    “Angeal?” he asked Uryu as the quincy hovered beside him, but the teen’s distraught face was answer enough.

    “Angeal!” he screamed as he finally spotted his mentor, still in the maelstrom, refusing to leave Muramasa there alone.

    “Muramasa!” Ichigo yelled at the same time, moving to dart back down.

    Then, to all their horror, the pressure increased, and Menos began emerging from the freed energy.

    “Despair must have made him lose control of his energy,” Tseng murmured quietly, something flickering in his eyes.

    “I can’t believe he kept Menos trapped inside himself,” Rukia breathed at the same moment, but Zack didn’t really care.  The monstrous hollows had made him lose sight of Angeal, and the hollow-tainted spiritual pressure was only increasing.

    “Foolish,” Byakuya murmured, stepping forward to take down the first Menos, only to be preempted by Ichigo.  “Kurosaki?”

    “Byakuya, you were willing to risk losing our respect to fight for your honor,” Ichigo noted with a smile, “Go get Koga.  Leave the smallfry to us.”

    “We have your back, always,” Rukia told Senbonzakura with a smile of her own, and the samurai looked to Byakuya for guidance.

    “Of course,” Byakuya agreed easily, “Senbonzakura.”  And the two lept after the ex-shinigami.

    “Zack,” Tseng’s voice cut through the soldier’s inner turmoil, and he turned to face his friend.  “We have the Menos under control,” the Turk continued, “Go find Angeal.”

    “Yea,” Zack agreed with a desperate smile, “Thanks, Tseng.”

    The Turk wavered slightly as soon as the soldier was out of sight, but there was no time to sink into his thoughts, not with so many Menos needing to be brought down.

* * *

    “Menos!” Orihime gasped in shock, “What’s happening over there?!”

    “Fighting,” Chad decided after a moment’s thought, then turned and looked over his shoulder.  “More are coming.”

    “Right,” Orihime agreed, feeling for the hoard of hollows coming up behind them.  “Well, we’ll hold them off.  For Ichigo, Uryu, and the others.”

    “Mmm,” Chad agreed, and settled into a fighting stance once more.

* * *

    “Where is Zack going?” Uryu asked the Turk as they took down a Menos together.  There was a moment’s hesitation where he wondered if the other man would answer him at all, then Tseng spoke.

    “Angeal, his mentor, was still with Muramasa when he went critical.”  Uryu nearly missed his next shot at that reply.

    “That was his mentor?!"

    “Yes.”

    The quincy’s jaw clenched, thinking how he would feel if his grandfather was caught in the middle of this.

    “We need to back him up."

    “Focus on clearing the Menos,” Tseng told him bluntly, “So he doesn’t have to fight them.”

    “Tch,” Uryu replied, but obeyed.  

* * *

    Zack ran towards the pillar of energy in the middle of the Menos, burning one that tried to grab him, but dodging as many as he could.  Several Menos would loom in his way, trying to grab him, only to be cut down by blasts of fire or ice, a quincy bow or a shinigami blade.  But as he slipped past the final ring of Menos something attacked nearly faster than he could block, throwing him away from the pillar once more.

    He rolled, and stood, only to freeze in shock at the monster that faced him now.  A composite of multiple hollow masks and limbs, Angeal’s face half hidden by the topmost mask, and the Buster Sword strapped to it’s back.  A Menos turned to see what the commotion was about, and realized the largest feast would be the spiritual fountain in the circles’ center.  But the chimera took it down before it could get close.

    “Angeal!” Zack cried desperately, trying to reach his mentor, but found himself at a loss for what to do when there was no recognition in the half-hidden eyes.  Angeal’s strange hollow form only watched him, moving threateningly when he got too close.

    “Angeal, damn it.  Don’t make me do this,” Zack pleaded.


	7. Honor

    A crash of ice blasted through where Byakuya was standing, eventually wearing away his shield.  Rukia was momentarily distracted by worry, but Uryu picked up the slack without comment.  It took only seconds for Senbonzakura to crash out of the ice and free the Shinigami captain.  Rukia breathed a sigh of relief and went back to helping Ichigo.

    Two Menos that had survived the icy blast staggered over, mouths opening wide is preparation for cero, but Tseng took them out before they could.  He paused to cast a glance over at the captain’s battle, only to hesitate as Byakuya missed Koga entirely, receiving a slash across the chest instead.  The captain frowned, brow furrowed, and stopped to re-evaluate his senses.  But they were still off.

    Koga charged up one of the binding spears and threw it, catching Byakuya by surprise as he dodged the wrong direction.  Senbonzakura went skidding out of his grip and across the ice.  Koga threw the second blade and Tseng reacted without thinking, shooting it off-course.  The ex-shinigami shot him a look of rage, and a pulse of spiritual pressure as he charged Byakuya once more.

    Tseng’s eyes widened as the reiatsu rushed him, seeping into the cracks in his soul.  His ability to sense spiritual pressure dropped suddenly and he froze, all his human senses dimming alarmingly without the boost from his spiritual ones.  A misstep on the air and he fell.

* * *

    Even with the second spear deflected, Byakuya could feel the binding kido slowing his flash-step, dragging him down.  Then the ice bound his legs, and up to his elbow on both arms and it no longer mattered how off his senses were, he could no longer dodge.

    He didn’t twitch as the Turk stumbled, and fell from the sky, focusing instead on Koga’s smirk.

    “You’re pathetic,” the ex-shinigami taunted, “A child who can’t do anything without his Zanpakuto.”  Byakuya glared at him, and Koga laughed.  “It doesn’t matter how skilled my enemies are.  They all bow to my power before the end!  I don’t need a Zanpakuto to crush anyone!”

    “You are a fool,” Byakuya told him blandly, and Koga growled in response, only to smirk again a moment later.

    “Let’s end this, Kuchiki Head,” he announced before charging him with the final spear.  Byakuya glared at him, refusing to flinch or back down.  Then, just when the spear would have pierced the captain’s skull, it stopped, blocked by a flurry of sakura petals.

    Tseng blinked as the new spiritual pressure cut the infecting pressure, not destroying it, but giving him small pockets his senses could use.  So he rolled to his knees and looked up, too muddled to do anything but witness.

    “Impossible!” Koga insisted, staring at Senbonzakura’s scattering blade, “It released itself?!”

    “Master, if you have lost command of your senses, make use of mine,” the samurai insisted as he materialized over Byakuya’s shoulder.

    “Of course,” the noble agreed, and the ice binding him shattered, tiny blades shredding the binding spear before reforming into his blade, hilt pressing into Byakuya’s hand.

    “I’ll take over that sword’s perceptions too!” Koga hissed, building up his spiritual pressure, but Byakuya cut him off.

    “I won’t let you.  Bankai.”  And he let Senbonzakura fall, “Massacre Scene: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.”

    The spiritual pressure increased, tearing more holes into the reiatsu binding Tseng’s senses.  Blades rose, and dissolved into petals, thousands and thousands of them, which, in turn, formed into a wall of blades towering over the combattants.

    Byakuya nodded once, “This is Senbonzakura’s true form, where he sacrifices everything but defeating our opponent.  It will not matter if you throw off my senses, my sword will still find you.”

    “You think that gives you an edge, huh?” Koga laughed, “But the same goes for me.  Stop stalling already and fight.”

    They clashed, and Tseng could feel the spiritual pressures fighting. Sometimes Senbonzakura’s power washed over him, freeing more of his senses, and sometimes Koga’s sealed more of them away.  Still, Koga’s power never sealed enough that he couldn’t feel the sharp spiritual pressure of the Samurai blade surrounding the battlefield.

    He stood cautiously, still uncertain if he could trust his eyes, and made his way over to the wall as titans clashed behind him.  He could sense the reiatsu a little better now, but Koga’s power still clouded his vision, so he reached out and placed his palm flat on one of the blades.  There was a sharp pain, and his vision cleared, even as his hand came away with a jagged cut.

    Crossing swords with Koga, Byakuya flinched as Senbonzakura did the same.  The ex-shinigami laughed as his opponent’s attention flashed to the human standing off to one side.

    With a second laugh, he launched an attack at the man, one Byakuya hurried to block, finding himself caught by the reflections instead.  Senbonzakura growled and several swords slashed the bindings, freeing the noble.

    “He won’t hit me,” Tseng’s voice spoke from over his shoulder as the man reappeared, “Not now that I can see again.”

    “Stay out of our way,” Byakuya ordered, “This is not your fight.”

    “My instinct was to defend a comrade.  I did not plan to involve myself,” the Turk agreed, dodging to the side as Byakuya charged Koga.  The ex-shinigami barely moved out of the way in time.

    “Damn you, you can’t be this powerful!"

    “You cannot win,” Byakuya told him mildly.

    “Not when both of us are fighting you,” Senbonzakura finished for him.  “Shinigami and Zanpakuto are two souls in one.  Our true power is only revealed when our souls resonate in harmony.  You cast your comrade aside in vanity, and so you can never defeat us.”

    “You are the fools,” Koga hissed, “No matter how much I did, or how hard I tried, people envied my power.  When push came to shove, all my comrades turned on me.  But I am strong, strong enough to survive on my own.  I will remake the world as it’s king, and then I will belong!”

    “How sad,” Byakuya replied simply.

    “What?!”

    “Only that you never saw where true power lies,” the noble told him, “It was never greater power you needed, but the ability to communicate with those around you, and your Zanpakuto.”

    “Why would I need to communicate?” Koga sneered, “With my power, I can make anyone believe what I want. No one can even come close to me!”

    “Then there is nothing left to say,” Byakuya sighed, “Your overconfidence is all you have left.  Curse your lack of experience for bringing this upon you, Koga.  I will perform my duty as head of the Kuchiki Family.”

    The swords walling off the battlefield dissolved, reforming into a ring of white around the captain.  Tseng wondered momentarily if he was looking at an angel, or the fury of a bird, but dismissed the thought from his mind.

    “Senbonzakura Kageyoshi:  Final Scene, White Imperial Sword,” Byakuya stated, completing the summon, “This is my final act of respect for you, as a former member of my clan.”

    “You’re strong,” Koga mused, “Stronger than most, if not all, of the heads to come before you.  I will defeat you, and finally break free of the Kuchiki family!”

    Their spiritual pressures spiked, ice cracking off the frozen lake-top and floating into the air.  Tseng staggered back, the cracks in his soul flaring as both spiritual pressures crashed against him.  But it was Senbonzakura’s, Byakuya’s, which stabbed through, and didn’t linger, allowing him to retreat as far as he dared and still be able to watch.

    Both combattants landed, and Byakuya stumbled, knees giving out as Senbonzakura materialized to catch him.  Koga stumbled as well, blood staining the ice as he caught himself on the spear he still held.

    “I’m… not done…” He hissed, upright through force of will alone, “I still… I still have,” and he coughed before smiling,  “Whisper, Muramasa.”

    But the sword did not appear in his hand, and the spirit, only a battlefield away, could not hear him.

    Koga stumbled again, digging the spear deeper into the ice to stay standing, even as Tseng leapt to Byakuya’s side, activating his restore Restore.

    “Why don’t you come, even though I’m calling you…?” Koga ground out, half in anger and half in despair.  Byakuya let Senbonzakura help him upright again, then stood on his own, prepared to finish the job.

    But then, a gleaming beast, somehow very like a hollow, yet somehow not, landed behind the former shinigami with a crash.  Koga turned in shock, just in time to watch the monster slice him in half with the binding spear Tseng had shot off course earlier.  The corpse tumbled backwards and sank into the lake as it dissolved.

    “What…?” Senbonzakura demanded, as the monster turned to face them.  Both Tseng and Byakuya tensed, readying their weapons.

    “Tseng, don’t! Stop, please!” Zack’s voice cut through the air as he came racing towards them.  “It’s Angeal!”

    Tseng froze, blinking at the monster in front of him, and realized he could sense a familiar spiritual pressure coming from it even with his senses burning and raw.

    “Explain,” Byakuya said coolly as Zack landed, “It doesn’t look like we have much time.”


	8. Two Boss Fights

    “Damn, there’s so many of them,” Ichigo growled as he sliced through another Menos.  More lesser hollow were appearing as well, some drawn by the sudden explosion of power, and others created by it.

    An impact nearby threw up a wind that knocked several smaller hollows into a Menos that cheerfully (as much as a hollow could be cheerful) ate them.

    “Looks like Byakuya won,” Uryu commented from beside him, shooting a swath through the smallfry.

    “Good,” Ichigo replied with a smile, “You find Zack yet?”

    “I think I saw him run by just now, but I was a little busy,” the quincy snapped.

    “Hey, hey!” Ichigo cut him off, “He’s fine.  He’s been training longer than I have.”

    “That’s not exactly hard,” Uryu shot back, but relaxed.

    Then another explosion of spiritual energy came from closer by, taking out several hollows and sucking their reiatsu back into the pillar of energy surrounding Muramasa.  The Zanpakuto’s energy then snapped back on itself, condensing into a ball even as it stopped erupting randomly.

    “Santen Kesshun!” Orihime cried out from behind them, and a huge version of her normal shield was thrown up between the explosion and those who had been killing hollows.  Ichigo blinked and looked down in time to see her and Chad finish running across the recent ice-bridge Koga’s kido and Rukia’s sword had made.

    “Nice going Orihime!” He called down and she smiled, giving him a mock salute.

    “Yes sir, hehe.”

    Rukia, Ichigo, and Uryu landed beside their friends, and waited tensely for the smoke to clear.

    “Ichigo,” Chad murmured spotting the figure first, and his comment brought everyone else’s attention to the strange hollow.

    “Is that, _Muramasa?_  That thing?” Ichigo exclaimed in surprise, stepping back.  “How? Can Zanpakuto even become hollows?!”

    “No they, that shouldn’t be possible,” Rukia replied hesitantly, “A Zanpakuto’s fate is decided by the soul bonded to it.  For Muramasa to become a hollow, must mean Koga’s gone, and their bond shattered!”

    “What?!” Ichigo exclaimed, gritting his teeth as he tried to imagine losing Zangetsu, or even his Hollow, like that.  “But he did so much for him…”

    “Then it wasn’t Muramasa who broke the bond,” Uryu interrupted bluntly, and even the quincy looked worried about the Zanpakuto.

    “He must have been using hollow to keep himself alive, when he could no longer draw on Koga’s spiritual pressure,” Rukia realized, hand tensing on her own sword, “And he would have needed so much of it, to stay manifested, to start the rebellion on Soul Society, and to break the seal…”

    “No wonder he was in pain…” Orihime whispered, “If he was going against his nature like that, for so long.”

    “Tch,” Ichigo stepped forward, “I can’t stand by and do nothing.  We have to stop him.  If I can get him to stand still, maybe you can heal him, Orihime.”

    “I’ll do my best,” she agreed firmly.  Ichigo looked at Uryu, who nodded.

    “Leave the Hollows to me, Chad, and Rukia.  We’ll guard your back.”

    “Good luck, Ichigo, Orihime,” Chad offered, before sprinting around the shield and into the fight.  Orihime called back her faeries and everyone leapt into action.

* * *

    “He’s not a hollow!” Zack sputtered at Byakuya’s look, “He’s not!  I just… I can save him!  Please!”

    “Master!” Senbonzakura yelled as the monster Zack had stopped him from attacking took another swipe at them.  The combattants leapt apart, dodging the spear as it came crashing down between them.  The samurai attacked with from behind to draw the creature’s attention, but was rebuffed with a swipe of it’s wing, petals scattering off armor and reiatsu, instead of cutting.

    “Zack, he’s too far gone,” Tseng tried to reason with his friend, “Don’t blind yourself to what he has become.”

    “He’s not a hollow!” the soldier yelled in frustration, “Tseng, listen to me.  He hasn’t attacked anyone who wasn’t going after Muramasa.  And even then, he didn’t eat the Menos, he just killed them!”

    The Turk hesitated, realizing Angeal hadn’t attacked Zack once, instead focusing on Byakuya and Senbonzakura.  Even the suited man hadn’t been afforded more than a passing glance.

    “Look at him, do you even see a hole?”  Zack pressed on, realizing the other man was listening to him.

    And Tseng looked closer, but could find no sign of a missing heart.

    “He’s acting on instinct,” Zack insisted, even Byakuya looking at him now, “But it’s an instinct to protect.  That’s the last thing he was trying to do before Muramasa’s power did this to him.”

    Byakuya looked to the monster, a twisted mutation of a man who had somehow been Fair’s mentor, shaking his head as it looked back at him.

    “Even so, the man he was is already gone.  He does not recognise you when you call for him.  I cannot allow him to stand in my way.”

    The spear lashed out at him again, forcing the group to leap aside and the battle to recommence.

    Tseng lept back, trying to find a weak point.  Zack flitted back and forth, blocking Byakuya’s attacks and Angeal’s, trying desperately to talk both men down.  But the spiritual pressure was getting to him, and Tseng wasn’t sure how long the soldier would be able to keep up.

    And Tseng ached, soul-deep where Senbonzakura’s spiritual pressure had cut through the cracks.  Angeal and the captain’s fight only aggravated the tired boundaries he had hastily erected, and he knew he would need to retreat soon.  But not without trying to understand what had happened, if not for his own curiosity, then for Zack.

    The man was no Turk, he wouldn’t ask him to kill someone dear to him.  If it came to that, Tseng was determined he would land the blow himself.

* * *

    “Come on already!” Ichigo growled as the Muramasa-hollow dodged away before the shinigami could grab him.  He swung Zangetsu wide, shooting another Getsuga Tenshou the Zanpakuto’s way, but Muramasa dodged the wrong way, avoiding coming into the range where Orihime might be able to block his escape with Santen Kesshun.

    “We’re trying to help you, get down here!” the substitute shinigami growled.

    He was almost considering if he’d have to switch on his hollow mask to catch him, even with Bankai.

    Fortunately, that didn’t turn out to be necessary.  Uryu swung by chasing a stray Menos, and noticed his difficulties, shooting a trail of arrows over Muramasa’s head to block the sky as an escape route.  The hollow had to dodge downward at Ichigo’s next attack, only to run right into Orihime’s shield, staggering back in surprise.  It turned on her, but Ichigo grabbed it from behind.

    Muramasa-hollow screeched, struggling against him, even as he dragged the hollow down in front of Orihime.

    “We’re not trying to hurt you,” Ichigo growled as the hollow tried to take his head off.  Orihime stopped a safe distance away and activated Soten Kisshun.

    “I’m sorry Muramasa, please hold still,” she whispered, and her energy began pouring into the healing shield.  Muramasa continued to struggle uselessly for a few moments, then suddenly went very still.

    “Hey, you alright?” Ichigo asked nervously, “Muramasa?”

    “I… can’t lose!” the hollow rasped, throwing himself suddenly to one side, sending Ichigo crashing into the healing shield before stumbling away, hands clutching its head.

    “Ichigo!” Orihime gasped, relaxing when the other redhead picked himself up without incident to hurry after the Zanpakuto.

    “Don’t worry, ‘Hime,” the shinigami told her quickly, hesitating just out of sword-range from Muramasa as the other collapsed to his knees.  “Muramasa, talk to me.”

    “...won’t lose,” the Zanpakuto coughed, “I won’t lose to the hollows’ powers!”  He doubled over, one hand over his eye, and the other grasping desperately in front of him.  “Where are you, Koga?”

    “Muramasa…” Orihime said sadly, coming to crouch beside Ichigo, “Please.  Please stop this.  The man you’re looking for is gone, you’ll only hurt yourself more if you continue like this.  Please, you don’t need to keep fighting.”

    “No…” Muramasa growled, eyes struggling back from red.  “A Zanpakuto is for fighting… and I won’t lose!”  He launched himself to his feet, swinging at them both, even as his Mask began to crack and reseal in turns.  Orihime gasped, summoning Santen Kesshun before Ichigo could pull her behind him.  Repetitive attacks smashed into the shield before Muramasa’s eyes were completely red again, and he lept back to change his attack angle.

    “Hang on,” Ichigo told her as he scooped her onto his back.  “We need to work closer than we tried last time.”

    “Right,” Orihime agreed, digging her fingers into his shoulders, and they were off.

* * *

    Byakuya frowned as Fair stepped in the way again, blocking the hollow-thing’s attack but also preventing him from counter attacking.  Senbonzakura scattered, only to skid across the monster’s armor, one petal deflecting in a slash across Fair’s already injured cheek.

    “Move,” the noble ordered lowly, Senbonzakura returning to his hand, but Zack ground his teeth and disobeyed, again.  Not that that was really surprising at this point.

    “Byakuya,” Tseng’s voice spoke from behind him, as the monster jumped away again with a roar, taking out a nearby Menos that had been charging a Cero.  The noble considered the other man, noting the bandage hiding the still-bleeding cut in his hand.

    “You have observed enough then?”  Byakuya asked finally, narrowing his eyes when Tseng nodded.  “It is a shinigami’s job to purify hollows.”

    “But Hewley has not been devoured by hollows, not yet,” the gunman replied calmly, “And that is not why you’re fighting him.”

    “What?” Byakuya snapped, glaring at this comment, only for Tseng to raise an eyebrow at him.

    “Muramasa is not your responsibility.”

    The noble frowned, not really noticing when the monster paused to watch, as did Zack.

    “As the head of the Kuchiki family…"

    “Koga was a Kuchiki,” Tseng told him softly, “Not Muramasa.  Now that Koga’s gone, Muramasa is no longer your concern.”

    “Muramasa is a threat.”

    “He’s a soul who lost everything, because he gave his all for a man who threw him away,” Tseng hissed, with a rare glare of his own, “And Kurosaki will deal with him.”

    Byakuya blinked thoughtfully, then sighed.  “Then we must give him time to fight.”

    Tseng nodded, looking at Angeal, “He is not a hollow.  I can feel his spiritual pressure.  But there are hollows there as well, somehow bound to him.”

    “So, purify the hollows, and free the man?” Byakuya inquired, arching an eyebrow, “and what if you’re wrong?”

    “I will stop him,” Tseng told him with a frown, gun slipping into his hand.  “Zack!  Aim for the masks!”

    The soldier blinked, then smiled suddenly, “Got it!”  And all three lept into motion as one.

* * *

    “Uryu!” Chad’s voice called out, with just enough time for the quincy to see what he was aiming and dodge before the blast took out several hollows that had been trying to get him from behind.

    “They just keep coming,” the smaller teen groused as he landed to stand back to back.  “Until Muramasa’s spiritual pressure gets back under control, they’ll just keep coming!” He sighed, adjusting his glasses, “Now I know how Ichigo felt when I kept using the hollow bait.”

    “Come on,” Rukia called as she landed beside them, “There’s only a few more Menos, then we can focus on the small fry.

    Just then, there was another fluctuation, and a crack started to appear in the sky.

    “Gargantia,” Chad pointed out before shooting off another blast.

    “Not again,” Rukia muttered, “Hurry up Orihime, Ichigo.”


	9. Interlude

    “Muramasa, stop!” Ichigo yelled after the hollow as the man divebombed them again, shooting off a Getsuga Tenshou before pulling back to block.  But Muramasa stumbled, hesitating, hand lifting towards his head rather than dodging, and the attack hit him straight on.

    “Muramasa!” Ichigo and Orihime cry out in unison, staring in shock as the hollow howled in pain.  Ichigo tried to leap forward, but the Zanpakuto’s spiritual pressure snapped again, driving him and Orihime back, even as he tried to brace himself against the onslaught.

* * *

    “Scatter, Senbonzakura,” Byakuya murmured, a thousand blades rushing towards the masks that were scattered across the monster’s body.  Zack ducked under the spear, drawing the creature’s attention even as he shattered the mask on it’s shield, and Tseng destroyed two on its arms with well placed spirit shots.

    Senbonzakura swirled, looking for more weak spots even as the hollow spiritual pressure purified and dissolved.  Blades spun, slicing through cracks opening in the armor, but rebuffed, again and again by the spiritual pressure seeping out those same cracks.  Tseng stumbled as the spear crashed into his side, the arm that had been aiming it dissolving mid attack, and Byakuya found his blade moving to blunt the blow before worse than the flat side could connect with the other man.

    Zack lept forward, as the monster’s limbs dissolved, shattering the half-mask covering Angeal’s face.  And, with that, the last of the spiritual hollow presence dissolved, even as Angeal himself slumped to the ground, bleeding.

    An explosion of spiritual pressure came from nearby, and Byakuya turned to look.  Something was wrong with Muramasa again, and a Gargantia was opening in the sky.  He should recall Senbonzakura and bring his aid to the others.  But Tseng was headed for Zack, his pistol still out, and Byakuya couldn’t walk away from what might happen.

    Not just yet.

* * *

    “Ichigo!  Orihime!  Get out of there!” Rukia yelled as the Gargantia opened wider behind Muramasa.  But it was too late. Though, not for the reasons she’d been alarmed.  The three combattants watched in horror as Muramasa seemed to collapse in on himself, then explode.  Hollow reiatsu crashed down around them, forming into more hollows even as others began escaping from the Gargantia.

    And, when the smoke cleared, there was only an expanding mass of solid spiritual pressure, drawing power from the reiatsu escaping Hueco Mundo.  Ichigo, Orihime, and Muramasa were nowhere to be found.

* * *

    “You can put the gun away, you know,” Angeal’s voice spoke hoarsely, startling Zack from his strangled sobbs.  Eyes widening he looked from Angeal to Tseng and back, breaking into a tiny, watery smile.

    “Angeal, you’re alive.”

    Tseng let out a sigh, holstering his pistol after a moment, and nodded to the ex-soldier.  “I would not have asked Zack to do that.”

    Angeal nodded his thanks, and Zack looked from one to the other, confused.

    “Zack,” Angeal interrupted his thoughts, “Thank you.  For coming after a monster like me.”

    “You’re not a monster,” Zack rebuked without hesitation, startling both other men, “Cissnei says wings mean freedom.  You’re not a monster, Angeal, you’re just lost.”

    “Heh, that certainly sounds like you, Zack,” the ex-soldier murmured, closing his eyes for a moment.

    “No…” Zack panicked, “Angeal!”

    “I’m hardly dead, Zack,” the older man chuckled, opening them again, “Just exhausted.  You made sure I was alright.”

    “Yea, I did,” Zack agreed, and Tseng moved away to give them some privacy.  “Please, Angeal,” the young soldier whispered, “Come back with me.”

    “You know I can’t do that, Zack,” Angeal sighed, “It’s the company that did this to me.”

    “But you have friends there!”  Zack insisted, “Me for one, and Sephiroth.  We could vouch for you, and the Director would let you come back, I know it.”

    “Oh Zack,” Angeal chuckled quietly, “The Director wouldn’t let me back.  It would cost him too much.  As for Sephiroth…” He sighed, “Whatever friendship there was between us was destroyed, long ago.”

    “Don’t say that,” Zack hissed, something shifting in his eyes, “He was lost without you.  You left him behind as much as you left me.”

    “Would you come with me if I asked you too, Zack?” Angeal mused tiredly, looking his apprentice in the eye, “I’m tired of this world, of the lies, but, you’re not one of them.”

    Zack bit his lip, tears forming, but he blinked them away determinedly, “Don’t do this Angeal.  You’re my mentor, don’t make me choose.”

    “I am, proud of you, Zack,” Angeal told him with a smile, reaching over the the Buster Sword, where it had fallen by his side.  “This is for you.”

    The soldier’s breath caught in his throat as he fought down tears, “Angeal, don’t… don’t…”

    “Protect your honor, Zack,” Angeal told him firmly, and pressed the handle into his chest.  Finally, Zack took the sword, arms shaking not from the weight, and touched it to his forehead the way Angeal knew he had done himself, many times.

    “I will,” Zack promised, his voice wavering, face still hidden behind the sword.  And, somehow, knowing Zack was choosing not to leave everything behind, even though he knew everything Angeal knew and more, made the ex-soldier even more tired.

    “I’m glad,” Angeal told him quietly before turning his face towards the battle raging in the distance.  It was somewhere he needed to go, soon, but he was just so tired…

    Byakuya looked on in alarm as Tseng’s condition worsened, flash-stepping to the man’s side in when he suddenly sank to his knees.

    “Tseng!”

    The shout, quiet though it was, drew Zack back to himself, Buster Sword swinging up to fend off the new threat.  Only, there wasn’t one.  Instead, Byakuya was laying the injured Turk on his side as Tseng struggle to retain his impassive mask.

    “Tseng!” the soldier gasped, echoing the shinigami as he scrambled to his feet.  The Buster Sword clicked into place on his back without conscious thought and he hurried over to the other two, kneeling down to check Tseng’s condition.

    When Byakuya stepped back to let Zack cradle the gunman, Angeal was already gone.

* * *

    “Zack,” Tseng breathed, his eyes clenched shut against the throbbing in his skull, “You have to go after him.”

    “I’m not going anywhere,” the soldier told him, “You collapsed, Tseng, I can’t just leave you like this.”

    “But he might not come back,” Tseng insisted, “You have to go after him before he’s gone forever.”

    “No I don’t,” Zack said sadly, “I know he might not come back.  I might… I might never see him again, and I don’t want that, but…  I can’t leave, Tseng.  You’re hurt, though I can’t for the life of me figure out how that happened.  And it’s not just that.  Even if you weren’t hurt, I’m not just going to leave you behind to chase Angeal like a dog.  Not you, not Cloud, and not Sephiroth.”  The soldier sighed, “I couldn’t do that, not to the people I care about.”

    “Not like Angeal did,” Tseng said after a moment, and Zack sighed, pulling him closer.

    “Yea, not like Angeal."


	10. Final Boss

    They were falling, Ichigo knew that, somehow, and he could feel Orihime’s nails digging into his shoulder where she was still holding tightly.  But he couldn’t seem to move, even though the world was spinning and they were falling.  And he couldn’t open his eyes.  Then blackness overtook him.

    Just as suddenly as the blackness arrived, it receded, leaving him crashing into the ocean.

    Shivering, but able to move now, Ichigo flash-stepped out of the water, glancing around at the strange landscape in shock.  Then he shook himself and spun, “Orihime?!”

    “Here,” her voice called out from behind him, and he turned, finding her sitting, startled, on a nearby pillar.

    “Are you alright?” He asked, coming down to land beside her.

    “I’m fine, but… where are we?”  Orihime asked, scrambling to her feet and looking around.

    Ichigo followed her gaze, taking in the pillars sticking out of a sea that stretched as far as the eye could see.  Then there was a shockingly clear footstep behind them, like the ringing of a bell, and both spun to find Muramasa, Zanpakuto, not hollow, standing on the water below them.

    “Ichigo Kurosaki,” He said, looking up at the shinigami, “How did you get here?”

    “Search me,” Ichigo shrugged, “Where is ‘here’ anyway?”

    “You can’t tell?  Just like Zangetsu shares your inner world, I used to have a place as well,” Muramasa told him before turning to look around, “Just like this.”

    Orihime stepped closer to the pillar’s edge with wide eyes, “Then this is… even though he’s…”

    “Yes,” Muramasa cut her off, “I don’t understand it either.  Did my reunion with Koga drag me here until I find my end, or is this just an illusion, made to torment me?  In either case, it’s going to fall apart very soon.”

    A pillar fell nearby, and Ichigo stepped closer to Orihime, looking around nervously.

    “Why?  What’s happening to you?”

    “No matter,” Muramasa brushed the question off before meeting Ichigo’s eyes, “I am truly grateful for how close our fates have been intertwined.  I have been given one last chance to finish our fight.”  And he summoned his blade before leaping at the redheads.

    Ichigo pulled Orihime onto his back to dodge, blocking the Zanpakuto’s next strike.

    “Please, stop!” Orihime pleaded, arms around the shinigami’s neck. “There’s nothing to fight over anymore!”

    “Don’t do this,” Ichigo agreed as they locked blades, “Don’t let everything go down in flames, not when you’ve come so far.”

    “Weak,” Muramasa chastised, breaking the blade-lock and dodging away, “Save your words.  All that’s left now is battle, and I must fight until I can’t fight anymore.”

    Kariya’s face flashed in Ichigo’s memory, and he winced.  “Suicide isn’t the answer!”

    “You assume you will win,” Muramasa frowned, “I will look forward to feeding on your power.”

    Blades clashed again, and Ichigo broke the block this time, just short of getting thrown back into the sea.  Orihime’s fingers were bruising his shoulders, but she was staying out of his way as best she could, and he didn’t dare put her down.

    Muramasa threw his arm out, and Ichigo dodged.

    “I’ve already seen though that move!” He accused, sending a Getsuga Tenshou at his opponent.  But Muramasa dodged, and the binding hit anyway.

    “You won’t escape just by blindly swinging your sword around,” Muramasa chided him, hand still outstretched, “You’re finished.”

    “Damn it, Muramasa, why?” Ichigo hissed, struggling futilely against the invisible bonds as the other summoned his blade.

    “Ichigo…” Orihime hissed, her arms pinned but otherwise free of Muramasa’s attack, then shook her head.  “Tsubaki!  Koten Zanshun, I reject!”  The fairy spirit arced across the space in front of them, hitting nothing. But as he swooped back in an arc, the blast of his passing sliced the reflection, and both humans found themselves suddenly released.

    “What are you trying to pull, summoning me and not attacking anything!”  The offensive fairy objected, bopping Orihime on the head once he was back beside her. She just smiled at him in reply.

    “Thanks, Tsubaki!  You really saved us!”

    “Yea, well, you shouldn’t have needed my help!” The spirit yelled, “How do you get into these situations anyway?!”

    “How strange,” Muramasa interrupted, a strained look on his face, and Tubaki turned on him next.

    “Who asked you, creepy nails?!”

    “I figured it out,” Ichigo interrupted with a smile, “Your attack isn’t really invisible, you hide it in mirrors and reflections.  That’s why it’s so hard to block!  But, once you know the secret…”  He shot a Getsuga Tenshou at the ocean, causing an enormous wave and effectively destroying the reflection so Muramasa couldn’t block his charge.

    “Give a little warning, strawberry!” Tsubaki yelled as he clung to Ichigo’s ear, but the shinigami ignored him.

    “You can’t stop me if I destroy the reflections in the water!” He finished, crashing into Muramasa with his shoulder, only to skid on open air.

    “Idiot!  Behind you!” Tsubaki yelled again, and Ichigo turned just enough to move Orihime out of the way before Muramasa slashed him across the side.  But, spinning to face the direction of the attack, he found the Zanpakuto standing two yards away and off to one side.  Nowhere close enough to have made that assault.

    “Where are you looking?!” Tsubaki yelled in his ear again, and Ichigo turned just quick enough to block another attack.

    “True, you may have prevented me from using my full powers, but that was hardly my only ability,” Muramasa told him with a smirk, and the resistance on his blade suddenly wasn’t there anymore.  “You’ve been trapped in another one of my abilities since we started this fight,” the Zanpakuto taunted, multiple copies of himself suddenly appearing in a circle around his opponents.

    “What are you doing?!” Tsubaki cried in alarm, “He’s right there!”

    “Santen Kesshun!” Orihime cried, burying her face into Ichigo’s shoulder, and the shield flew up to block Muramasa, rather than where she thought he was.

    “Good thinking, Orihime,” Ichigo congratulated, and she blushed, murmuring her thanks.

    “What’s going on?” Lily asked once Muramasa backed off.

    “Yea, why do you keep missing this man when he’s right beside you?” Hinagiku finished, looking worried.

    “He’s coming again,” Baigon warned.

    “Santen Kesshun!” Orihime summoned again, and the shield just barely blocked the next attack.

    “That bastard’s doing something, isn’t he?” Tsubaki demanded before kicking Ichigo in the cheek, “Idiot!  How dare you let him do that to Orihime!”  The shinigami winced, but ignored him otherwise, doing his best to pick out which direction the next attack was coming from.

    “Damn it.  How can I…?”

    “Ichigo,” Zangetsu’s voice interrupted calmly.  “I can feel him.”

    “Wha…?  Old Man Zangetsu?” Ichigo questioned, and Tsubaki fell silent, watching him.

    “His hypnosis can no longer affect me,” the sword continued, “I will be your eyes.  But, you must trust everything to me, and communicate on the most basic level with your Zanpakuto.”

    “Yea,” his hollow spoke up suddenly, “We won’t let this guy win.”

    “You’re going to…?!” Ichigo hissed, startled by the hollow’s offer of help, but Zangetsu cut him off.

    “Trust us, Ichigo.”

    “Heh.  Of course I do,” Ichigo replied, closing his eyes.  He could sense Zangetsu’s spiritual pressure, and his hollow’s surprise before the other’s spiritual pressure infused him as well.

    “Ichigo?” Orihime asked worriedly.

    “Hang on,” the shinigami replied, eyes still closed, and then dodged.  The shun shun rikka clung to Orihime’s shirt, and Tsubaki to Ichigo’s ear, as he dodged.

    Muramasa danced around them, sometimes feinting, sometimes making an attack, but Ichigo blocked each one, before returning a counterstrike of his own.  The Zanpakuto skid backwards before catching himself on a pillar and returning to attack.  But Ichigo didn’t fall for his feint, spinning to block behind him, startling the sword-spirit.

    _How did he...?_  Muramasa mused as he darted backwards again, slipping into illusions again to attack from behind.  But Ichigo was ready for him, a Getsuga Tenshou already powered up.

    “Huh, you got him,” Tsubaki commented with a blink as Ichigo’s attack hit.

    “Yea,” the shinigami agreed, “Thanks for having my back.”  But he was off again before any of his passengers could reply.

    Ichigo could feel them, spiritual pressure feeding back and forth across his soul as Zangetsu showed him where to dodge, or his hollow where to attack.  It was strange, but also somehow not, to feel all three of them working in harmony.  And he knew, as that feeling guided his sword-hand, that this was what fighting with a Zanpakuto was supposed to feel like.  Every part of his soul working in tandem to protect something important.

    “Orihime,” he spoke finally, after throwing Muramasa into a pillar to break another blade-lock, “And the rest of you.  Thanks, for fighting beside me.  Beside us.”

    “Hey, no problem,” Lily spoke up happily, “That’s what friends do, right?”

    “Why wouldn’t we have your back?” Shun’o finished, as he and Ayame finally emerged as well.

    “Mhmm,” Orihime agreed with a smile “We’re here with you, as long as you help us stay in this fight, ok?”

    “Yea,” Ichigo agreed with a smile, opening his eyes, “Muramasa!”

    The Zanpakuto spirit pulled himself to his feet, looking the worse for wear, but his eyes were still clear.

    “I finally know what they were trying to tell me,” Ichigo told him with a smile, “Zangetsu, and the other one.”

    “What?” Muramasa replied frowning.

    “We have to acknowledge and accept each other, or we’ll just waste time fighting each other,” Ichigo mused, smiling down at his Zanpakuto.  “We’re meant to be allies, that’s how Zanpakuto and Shinigami are supposed to interact.”  He looked up at Muramasa, “That’s what you were trying to tell me also, wasn’t it?”

    “What would you know?!” The stray spirit growled, pulling himself up to attack again.

    “Listen to me!” Ichigo pleaded, “Why can’t you admit you…” But the pillar they were standing on chose that second to shatter, and Muramasa was attacking him again.

    “Ichigo, we’re running out of time,” Zangetsu warned.  “The grudges of all the hollows he’s devoured have found him.  They’re trying to crush this place.”

    “What a pushy bunch of losers,” his hollow put in for good measure, and Ichigo glanced around nervously.

    “Ichigo, what’s happening?” Orihime asked quietly as the sky darkened overhead, and a wind picked up.

    “The hollows, they’re coming after Muramasa,” Ichigo told her, throwing them to the side as the Zanpakuto in question launched himself at them from behind.  They locked blades again, and Muramasa was thrown into a nearby pillar when Ichigo broke the bladelock.

    “King!” Ichigo’s hollow yelled, startling him, right before the pillar erupted, crashing into the ocean, and bringing Muramasa with it.

    “Muramasa!” Ichigo yelled as Orihime gasped.  He tried to dart forward and find the Zanpakuto, but the falling debris drove him back.  “Muramasa!”

    “If he falls, we may all end up trapped here,” Zangetsu warned tersely, and Ichigo ground his teeth, circling nervously.

    “There!” Ayame pointed, just as the Zanpakuto pulled himself out of the sea, landing on a nearby pillar where he collapsed, gasping for breath.

    “Muramasa!” Orihime called to him, hopping down as soon as Ichigo landed, and hurrying to activate Soten Kisshun over the Zanpakuto.

    “Why…?” He demanded, wheezing as he looked up at them.

    “We don’t want to see you suffering!” Orihime yelled at him, determinedly shaking the wetness from her eyes.

    “It’s none of your concern!” He yelled back, shoving past her barrier and standing to face both opponents.

    “He said he didn’t need you,” Ichigo told him sadly, “Why are you still trying to do what he wanted?!”

    “Koga was strong enough to rule Soul Society if he wanted!”  Muramasa shot back, “And I was proud to add to his power!”  He coughed, before looking down at his hand with a crooked smile, “And I can still fight.”

    “Ichigo!”  Orihime cried as the shinigami was shoved off the pillar in the clash, before she could grab onto him again.

    “Hang on!” Tsubaki told her, and the shun shun rikka scooped her up before the pillar collapsed.

    “You said you’d free the Zanpakuto!” Ichigo argued, locking blades, “You even said you had killed your own master!”

    “It was a lie!” Muramasa smirked back, “I needed to deceive them!”  And he threw Ichigo back as the bladelock broke.

    “I think you knew he didn’t give a damn about you!” Ichigo accused, and Muramasa stumbled, “And I think you didn’t want anyone else to suffer that!  But you still suffered to try and release Koga from that seal, because, deep down, you still wanted to communicate with him!”

    “I…!” Muramasa began angrily, then hesitated, looking down at his hand.  Then he sighed, “It was a fleeting dream.  It would not have lasted forever.”  A sudden snap in spiritual pressure drove him to his knees, even as another pillar collapsed.

    “If they break through, he’ll turn into a hollow,” Ichigo’s hollow told him quietly, “He’s nearly there already.”

    “He won’t turn into a hollow,” Ichigo disagreed quietly, “We’re going to save him.  Muramasa!” The Zanpakuto’s head shot up at the call, meeting his eyes, and Ichigo brought a fist to his chest.  “I am not alone!  I know I am together with Zangetsu, and with my hollow!  And I know my friends, and the captains, they all believe there is a special bond between Shinigami and Zanpakuto!  We all believe the same thing you do!  You don’t have to make a mockery of it anymore!”

    “I don’t have to take this from you!” Muramasa yelled back, “I never asked for this power!”

    “Zanpakuto are meant for more than just fighting,” Ichigo finished gently, “Right?  You taught me that.  So, don’t believe everything Koga said, ok?”

    Muramasa stared, unable to respond, or even decide how to respond.  Then the world shook again, and he smiled.

    “Looks like we are out of time,” He told Ichigo as a hollow bask began forming over his face.  “Prove to me your resolve!”

    “Muramasa!” Ichigo yelled desperately, spiritual pressure skyrocketing as he tried to reach the other in time.  The Zanpakuto ripped the mask from his face, and released his spiritual pressure as well, attacking Ichigo in turn.

    “Orihime, hold on!” Lily ordered, brow furrowed as she charged up as well.

    “What are you going to do?” The startled girl asked, straining to try and spot Ichigo as the ocean erupted around them.

    “Idiot,” Tsubaki growled from his handhold on her other shoulder, “Just let us protect you!"


	11. Understanding

    Muramasa sank into the sea, too close to the edge of consciousness to move, but aware of the water pressing down on him.

    “Muramasa!”  Kurosaki’s voice called from above him, joined by the voice of the girl with strange powers.

    _How is it,_ he wondered weakly, _their voices can reach my soul?_

    He struggled to open his eyes, reaching out for the light above him, and a hand grabbed his own.  Kurosaki dragged him from the water, even as the world faded and the hollows were purified.  A warm glow blanketed him, and he turned his head, seeing the girl hovering beside him.

    “I’m glad you’re alright,” she breathed as he stared at her, “Just hold on a little longer, alright?”

    “Yea, we’ll figure something out,” Kurosaki agreed, lowering them all to the ground, “You’re going to be alright.”

    Muramasa coughed, holding tighter to the hand that had saved him, “Is this what it means for souls to understand each other?”

    “Yea,” Ichigo agreed, setting him on the grass, but not letting go of his hand.

    “Koga…” Muramasa breathed, “I lead him astray.”

    “Don’t blame yourself,” Ichigo insisted quietly, “We all make mistakes.  You couldn’t have know how this would end.  You just have to accept what happened, and work to fix whatever you can.”

    “Someday,” Muramasa replied, squeezing Ichigo’s hand, “I will repay this debt.”

    “Don’t worry about it,” Ichigo murmured, squeezing back.

    “Um… Ichigo,” Orihime whispered urgently, drawing both their attention to her.  “Someone’s coming.”

    And it was true.  A stranger emerged from the fog around them, stopping a moment before coming closer.

    “You were with Uryu,” Ichigo realized after a moment, looking up at the man, “Fighting Senbonzakura when Rukia and I arrived.” 

    “Yes,” Angeal agreed, coming to a stop beside the group, “My name is Angeal Hewley.”

    “Ichigo Kurosaki,” Ichigo returned, “How did you end up here?”

    “I was looking for Zack,” Angeal murmured, as a black chocobo came out of the fog behind him.  He nodded to the bird with a small smile.

    “Are you a soldier?” Orihime asked curiously.

    “I was.  But no longer,” Angeal breathed.  After a moment’s hesitation, he came to kneel beside her, putting a cloth bundle gently under her healing shield.

    Muramasa tensed, and Orihime moved to protest, until Angeal let the bundle fall open, revealing the shattered pieces of Muramasa’s blade.

    “Oh,” Orihime murmured, before giving the dark-haired man a brilliant smile.  Muramasa stared at the pieces in shock as the healing aura began forging them back together as well.

    “Thank you,” he managed after a moment, looking up to meet Angeal’s eyes, only to startle at the smile the other man offered him.

    “I’m glad you’re alright.”

    A memory slipped into his mind, suddenly, of a stranger holding him up as Koga shattered him.

    “You protected me,” the Zanpakuto realized, eyes widening, and the soldier looked startled.

    “I could do no less,” he replied finally, setting his jaw, “You are not a tool to be thrown away.”  Angeal shook his head at the other’s stricken expression, “Before I go, will you tell me your name?”

    “Muramasa,” the Zanpakuto replied, eyes wide.

    “Muramasa,” Angeal repeated, then smiled, “I will remember.”

    The Zanpakuto stared at this man, standing over him, and felt something loosen in his chest,  “Where are you going?”

    Angeal sighed, and looked into the distance, “Somewhere far away.  There is much I have to atone for, but first I need distance, or I may never learn where I went wrong.”

    “Atone,” Muramasa breathed, then closed his eyes with a sigh, “It seems our fates are similar.”

    “Do not give up on those who stood by you.  They can help you now, more than ever,” Angeal told him softly, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder.  But, when the touch connected, both men froze.

    Muramasa’s eyes shot open and met the other’s shocked blue gaze, both of them feeling the tentative connection between their souls.

    “Let me be of use to you,” the Zanpakuto whispered desperately, his eyes clenching shut.

    “I don’t want to cause you more harm,” Angeal told him, just as quietly.

    “Don’t leave me behind,” Muramasa pleaded, pulling his uninjured hand from Ichigo’s grasp to reach for Angeal.

    “Very well,” Angeal agreed, catching the hand in his larger one, “We travel together.”  Muramasa breathed and nodded.  Angeal looked to Orihime, who glanced from him to Ichigo before both of them nodded as well.

    “Take care of him,” Ichigo told the ex-soldier with a frown, “Don’t you dare leave him alone.”

    “You have my word,” Angeal agreed quietly, and the chocobo trilled softly behind him.

    “Where will you go?” Orihime asked softly.  Angeal blinked at her, then turned to the slowly closing Gargantia consideringly before starting and shaking himself.  Muramasa followed his gaze, and nodded suddenly, rolling onto his side to try and sit up.

    “Don’t…!” Orihime tried to stop him, but he brushed off her concern.

    “We must go, before it closes.”

    “I will not risk you there,” Angeal disagreed quietly, startling the Zanpakuto, only for the other to shake his head.

    “Soul Society ordered me bound or destroyed when Koga was captured,” Muramasa explained bitterly, “So I hid in that world, where they would not find me.”

    Angeal nodded after a moment, consideringly, “If you’re sure, then that’s where we will go.  But lay back down to heal. My chocobo can take us there when you’re done.”

    Muramasa blinked at the black bird in surprise, but obeyed.  When Orihime was done, he sat up again, picking up the repaired blade, and offering the hilt to the ex-soldier.  For a split second, Ichigo worried Angeal would ram the blade into Muramasa’s chest.  The Zanpakuto seemed to have that same idea, tensing as Angeal’s hand settled around the handle.  But the ex-soldier only accepted the blade slowly, before swinging it up into a harness that hung over his shoulder.

    Muramasa blinked at the straps in surprise as Angeal adjusted them, but snapped to attention as soon as his wielder’s gaze turned back to him.

    “Come on,” Angeal told him gently, holding out a hand, “We have a long way to go ahead of us.”

    “Yes,” the Zanpakuto breathed, accepting the hand, and letting Angeal pull him too his feet.

    “Thank you,” Angeal said, turning to Orihime and Ichigo, “For doing what I could not.  And for looking after Zack.”

    “He did a lot of looking after us as well,’ Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.  “Just take good care of Muramasa, right?”

    “I gave you my word,” Angeal agreed, reaching out to put a hand on the spirit’s shoulder.

    “Come visit sometime,” Orihime offered cheerfully, even as Tsubaki grumbled beside her.

    Muramasa glanced at Angeal nervously before nodding, “I will try.”

    “The fog is lifting,” Angeal mused, reaching out a hand for his chocobo, “We should leave soon.”

    “Have a safe trip!” Orihime waved cheerfully, as Angeal scooped up the startled Muramasa and mounted.

    “Yea,” Ichigo agreed with a smile, “Stay safe.”

    Moments later, the Gargantia snapped shut, and the fog abruptly lifted.

    “Ichigo!  Orihime!” Rukia yelled, running up to them with the others not far behind, “You’re alright!”

    And Angeal and Muramasa were gone.


End file.
